Struggling to navigate long-term care for your loved one in Texas? Follow these tips
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities across Texas are facing staffing shortages, and as they do, caregivers are trying to navigate a complex and, at times, daunting system to get their loved ones the help they need.
Amanda Fredriksen, the associate state director for advocacy with AARP in Texas, offers some tips.
Learn about potential nursing homes
Fredriksen said it’s important to not rush choosing where your loved one will stay.
Start by researching potential locations online. One useful resource is the Medicare website, which offers a tool for comparing nursing homes and other health care providers. Users can search by location. The website ranks homes on a five-star system and lets users read about things like staffing, health inspections and staff COVID-19 vaccination rates.
Once you’ve narrowed potential homes, schedule a visit.
“Visiting in person is so important because you can really take in a whole lot about the facility,” she said. “It’s not just, is everything pretty and shiny and clean? But it’s really, how do the residents look? Do they look like they’re well groomed and well cared for? Is their hair groomed? Are their teeth and fingernails clean? Those are the really strong indications of the kind of care that your loved one is going to get.”
They should also pay attention to whether staff is familiar with the residents they are caring for, she said.
“Consistent staffing is key to resident residents getting good quality care,” Fredriksen said. “Having staff who know the residents can also help when there’s a change in someone’s condition, recognizing it quickly.”
Fredriksen also said it’s important to work with the health care plan and providers of the person being cared for because there may be options for in-home help a caregiver is not aware of.
Problems at a nursing home
There are options if you feel the care is lacking.
Texas has a Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman with representatives who are independent of long-term care facilities serving as advocates for resident rights. Depending on the severity of the situation, a good place to start is reaching out to an ombudsman assigned to the facility. This can be useful for personality conflicts, Fredriksen said.
The Ombudsman office can be reached at 1-800-252-2412. There’s also an online search tool.
If the concern is related to abuse or neglect, Fredriksen said it’s important to report the issue to Texas Health and Human Services.
“They will investigate those,” she said. “They’re obligated to investigate those complaints. How quickly they do that depends on how urgent the situation is.”
People can call 800-458-9858 to report abuse in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Take care of yourself
Fredriksen encouraged caregivers to make sure they’re also taking care of themselves.
Caregivers are trying to organize their lives as well as the lives of the person they are caring for, she said.
“I think too often caregivers forget to take time for themselves, and whether it’s out of guilt or the inability to have someone else available to keep an eye on their loved one or care for their loved one, they they don’t take care of themselves. I think that’s one of the most important messages for caregivers is that they need to find ways to get a break, because it’s it’s all too easy to burn out.”
